


Pick Up and Put Down

by keelywolfe



Series: by any other name [53]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Established Relationship, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Prejudice Against Monsters (Undertale), Spicyhoney - Freeform, Threats of Violence, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface, papcest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 02:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17799842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keelywolfe/pseuds/keelywolfe
Summary: It’s another day at the Embassy. Edge is accustomed to getting texts from a number of people but not quite like this.





	Pick Up and Put Down

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter has a reference to suicide. It is NOT, I repeat, NOT any character from any Undertale universe. It is also NOT any of my OC’s that you may have grown to know and love. No one that has made an appearance anywhere before, okay?
> 
> That said, if you find a reference to suicide triggering or upsetting, skip this one.

 

* * *

The first text came only a few minutes after Edge arrived at work. He parked in the secure lot, walking through the side gate that led to the main entrance without taking him past the protestors. Distantly, he heard the rising shouts as they caught sight of him and if he bothered to glance in their direction, he would see them waving their signs.  
   
For Humans who claimed they were concerned for the safety of their children, they didn’t seem particularly worried about them seeing their hate-filled rhetoric and vulgar demands.  
   
Edge ignored them. He was too far away to even make out what they were shouting, much less for them to harm him even if they could, and he doubted they would make an attempt. Janice had been an easy target for their hatred and as much as he knew it would only make things worse in the long run, something ruthless at his core wished they would try him.  
   
It wouldn’t teach them anything about love, but the part of him that would never leave Underfell behind thought they could use a lesson about LV.  
   
The chime of his phone distracted him from those thoughts and Edge paused in the lobby to check it.  
   
_if you were a juice, you’d be fineapple_  
   
Unwillingly, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. A little charming ridiculousness from Stretch was more than welcome this morning and instead of answering, Edge only noted that the message had been read. Partly because he had no affection for emoticons and partly because Stretch would be aggravated by it.  
   
An aggravated Stretch was by far the most entertaining and it was going to be a long day. He could use the promise of playful harassment.  
   
With a short nod to the security guard, Edge scanned his ID badge and made his way to the third floor.  
   
Janice was already at her desk, typing furiously when he walked in.  
   
“Good morning,” she said briskly, barely glancing up from the screen. “You have a meeting in an hour, I left the informational packet on your desk.”  
   
“Thank you,” Edge told her crisply. He left her to her work and went on to his office to prepare. Before the door was even closed, his phone chimed again.  
   
_are you a banana? because i find you ap-peeling_  
   
With a head shake, Edge put his phone back in his pocket and hung up his coat. Next to the folder there was already a cup of coffee waiting, steam wafting gently. That was the benefit of always being prompt, it gave his assistant the foresight of knowing when to get coffee.  
   
Two pages into the report, he was a hell of a lot more grateful for the coffee. This meeting was going to be thrilling, he could already tell.  
   
An hour and a half later, Edge was damning himself for being proven right, listening to the presenter droning away. Even Papyrus, who was sitting on the other side of the table with the other diplomats, had to jerk his head up when it started to bob drowsily.  
   
Edge was thinking idly of sending for a pot of coffee for the room when his phone buzzed. He never turned it off anymore, not after the attack on New New Home, and no one gave him so much as a glance as he discreetly checked the message.  
   
_i know you’re busy today, but can you add me to your to-do list?_  
   
This time, his smile almost broke free. It was an effort to school his expression to attentiveness, staring at the PowerPoint with polite interest. Another half hour dragged by, but his phone stayed unfortunately silent, and in the end, a round of coffee was brought for everyone.  
   
It almost helped.  
   
It wasn’t until he was back at his desk, his lunch set out so that he could eat while he worked, that his phone chimed again. He took a bite of his Greek couscous salad before he looked at the text, savoring the rich flavors. Absently, he wondered what Stretch was having for lunch; there were plenty of options in the refrigerator to choose from, even if he usually preferred simpler, often greasier, fare.  
   
_baby if you were words on a page, you’d be what they call fine print_  
   
His smile was reluctant, but it was there even after he finished eating.  
   
Throughout the day, the texts came. While he was talking to Antwan about an upcoming court case regarding Monsters rights in private businesses—  
   
_are you an astronomer? because i want you to study this heavenly body_  
   
When he got a cup of coffee from the lounge to help him get through the afternoon, already thinking longing thoughts towards the Beanery’s reopening and being able to get his preferred coffee beans again—  
   
_if you were a chicken, you’d be im-peck-able_  
   
And during his brief meeting with Asgore to discuss the construction of a new Embassy that was being planned in California and housing requirements for the Monsters who were in need of warmer climes.  
   
_if nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?_  
   
It was close to the time he normally left that his phone finally rang, and Edge answered it, already anticipating a flood of puns and ridiculous lines to carry him home.  
   
“babe?” Stretch said and Edge stiffened instantly at the shakiness in that single word.  
   
“What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.  
   
There was a quavering breath on the other end of the line, and Stretch asked, “have you seen the news at all?”  
   
“No, I’ve been in my office. Hold on.”  
   
He started pulling up the local news on his laptop, but Stretch hadn’t stopped, his voice low and trembling, “they caught him. i mean, they didn’t really catch him, they found him.”  
   
“Found who?” Edge was scrolling, scanning the webpage, trying to find what had him so upset.  
   
He saw it at the same moment Stretch blurted out, “the guy! the guy who burned down the beanery. it…it’s the same guy from the bus. the one who…who attacked me.”  
   
It was. Edge recognized him from police report, the court documents, and the one time he’d seen him in person. There was nothing remarkable about him, only a middle-aged Human, and Edge couldn’t see into the souls of others, couldn’t see their sins. This Human kept his hatred hidden beneath a veneer of civility, invisible at a glance to most.  
   
It didn’t matter, Edge could sense his LV even without a Check. This man had hurt plenty of others before Monsters had even stepped from beneath the mountain.  
   
He remembered seeing this Human in court when Antwan was defending Jeff after the attack on the bus. He’d been there as the injured party, claiming he’d been the one attacked. Edge had no doubt that was exactly what he believed. To him, Monsters had attacked simply by existing and Stretch being in his space was nothing short of an assault.  
   
He usually enjoyed watching Antwan in a courtroom as he calmly and ruthlessly disassembled the arguments of the other side. Edge hadn’t stayed that day, wanting to be as far from that Human as possible. For the Human’s protection, not his own. The mental picture of him trying to strike Stretch for the simple act of _being_ made his own LV stir in uncomfortable ways.  
   
And now according to the news article, he was dead.  
   
“the police aren’t saying much yet,” Stretch rushed out, something close to panic lacing his words. “but...but…there’s plenty of rumors online. so far they’re saying it looks like a suicide. edge, they’re saying he had a plan to plant a bomb in the embassy, they—"  
   
“Shh, calm down,” Edge soothed, reading with narrowed eyes, even as he typed a quick message to the Intel team. He wanted information about this, and he wanted it _now_.  
   
Stretch’s breathing was too quick, his voice thick and hoarse, and more than a little unsteadily . “i know you guys have great security and everything, i mean, your brother is usually on this shit. Fuck, i’m surprised he wasn’t already.”  
   
A trickle of coldness ran down Edge’s spine at the mention of his brother, like tiny icicles prickling up his vertebra.  
   
“Suicide…” Edge murmured, reading through the news article avidly. It wasn’t possible that the police had released this much information so quickly, Intel would need to see if they could root out their source.  
   
“yeah,” Stretch swallowed hard enough that Edge heard the dry click through the line. “i guess his landlady found him, said he hung himself. left a note and everything.”  
   
Edge was sure that he had, and a detailed one at that.  
   
“he had a bunch of anti-monster stuff, they found his plans for the arson at the beanery. and his note mentioned the embassy, but…but…why would he kill himself before he did it, that doesn’t make sense, does it? i mean, i haven’t seen the note but, babe, what if he tried something, what if there is something there, what if—"  
   
“He couldn’t have gotten onto the grounds without being detected,” Edge reminded him, still reading. “We’ve got plenty of magic and technology preventing it.”  
   
Stretch exhaled rattlingly loud. “yeah. yeah, i know, i get it, i was just worried, you know? this is all so much happening, and it had to be this guy, didn’t it, why the fuck couldn’t he just leave us alone, we never did anything to him and—” his voice broke, faltering. That attack on the bus had shaken Stretch badly at the time and now he was trapped reliving it, only to discover the perpetrator had stolen more from him than he could have possibly guessed.  
   
“I’m coming home,” Edge told him abruptly. Listening to this, knowing Stretch was dealing with it alone, was growing too painful; he could work from home if needs be.  
   
“what? no, i’m okay.” To his relief, Stretch calmed a little at that, breathing deeply. “andy is on his way over, he’s kind of shaken, too. he knew the guy from court and he ain’t crying over him, but it’s still fucked up, yeah? stay there, you’ve probably got a ton of things to do now that this shitshow is starting up.”  
   
He did, he would, but leaving Stretch to deal with this on his own, even with Jeff at his side, did not sit well. “Are you sure?”  
   
“yeah, yeah, we’ll watch some movies or something, spend the night chilling out. babe? be careful, okay? just…be careful.”  
   
“I promise,” Edge said softly. A message was beeping through on his phone, but Edge ignored it for a moment.  
   
“holding you to that. i love you.”  
   
“I love you, too.”  
   
He hung up and sat back in his chair, pressing the hard case of the phone against his forehead for a long moment. Then he looked at the message.  
   
It was from Red and Edge felt his soul pulse once, one white-hot flareup of LV, as he read it.   
   
_why did the man trapped in the burning house start swinging a baseball bat?_  
   
_because three strikes and you’re out._  
   
For one brief second everything was too hot, his vision wavering. Then Edge let out a long, slow breath, flexing his hands as he took back control.  
   
First, he deleted his brother’s text. Their cell phones ran through Monster servers and until Humans had access to magic, they were unhackable by any of their means. It was nothing more than a ridiculous joke, no reason to keep it and that was exactly what he would say if he were asked. He wouldn’t be, the chances were infinitesimal, but Edge preferred to be prepared for anything, including near impossibilities.  
   
That done, Edge silently opened one of his file cabinets and took out a thick folder, filled with reports. They were all written by his brother in a language that very few Monsters could read.  
   
He honestly wasn’t sure if Stretch was one of them.  
   
There was nothing truly incriminating in them. Edge had read them all and while they stated some of Red’s suspicions, he hadn’t been able to prove anything concrete, certainly not enough to take to the fickle Ebott police.  
   
He pushed them through the shredder, anyway, meticulously. Five sheets at a time and watched as the cross blades turn them into confetti.  
   
Chances were that no one would ask him any awkward questions. But if they did, Edge could in all honesty say he didn’t know anything.  
   
This was nothing more than plausible deniability coupled with healthy caution and it was nothing but the truth that Edge didn’t know anything. He could look his husband in the face and repeat that truth. He could.  
   
There were lines he wouldn’t, couldn’t cross, not even for his brother.  
   
When he was finished, Edge went back to his desk and got to work. He was going to be here very late, messages were already pouring in and he could hear Janice’s phone continually ringing.  
   
There would need to be press releases and statements despite the fact that Monsters had not been involved. It would be officially ruled suicide eventually, Edge had no doubt. The Security team would need to assess the threat as well; as confident as he was in their security measures, arrogance was a quick path to catastrophe.  
   
Before he could begin opening the multiple messages and emails that were pouring in, Edge caught sight of the darkened screen on his phone and hesitated.  
   
He picked it up, his fingers resting briefly on the screen, and then quickly he typed a message.  
   
_How can other people love when I'm using the world's supply on you?_  
   
He pressed send quickly before he could second guess and set his phone aside. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a flurry of emoticons explode across the screen , an eye-searing expression of delight and affection.  
   
Stretch was all right, Jeff would be there soon. He wasn’t alone and he was safe in their home, and when Edge finally returned, he would be able to kiss him, hold him, with nothing between them.  
   
He could.  
   
The ring on his third finger was a comforting weight as Edge got to work.

-finis-  
 


End file.
